Washington Nationals: Takeaways From 3-2 Win Over Phillies
By Ricky Keeler
Check out my three takeaways from last night’s 3-2 Washington Nationals win over the Phillies
Last night, the Washington Nationals (77-55) continued their domination of the Philadelphia Phillies (60-72) in 2016 as they won their eighth straight game against Philadelphia, 3-2. With the win, the Nats remain nine games ahead of the Mets in the NL East after New York beat Miami for the second straight night.
The story of the night was Max Scherzer. The Washington Nationals right-hander had a no-hitter after five innings and struck out five in a row at one point. While he didn’t get the no-hitter, he threw eight great innings and struck out 11 to secure his 15th win of the season.
For the second straight night, the offense got out to an early lead with a pair of runs in the first inning. One of those RBI’s came from Bryce Harper, who has eight RBI’s in his last six games and who is hitting .325 in the month of August.
This game got interesting late when Ryan Howard hit a two-run home run against Scherzer in the bottom of the seventh to cut the lead to 3-2. Howard, who usually struggles against Scherzer (2-for-21, 13 strikeouts), is hitting .307 with eight home runs and 18 RBI’s since the All-Star Break.
In the ninth, Dusty Baker brought in Mark Melancon for the fifth time in six days. While I was surprised about that decision, Melancon got the job done despite walking the leadoff batter. You would think Melancon would not be available tonight so that the closer could get a couple of days off (including the day off tomorrow).
Before Gio Gonzalez goes for the sweep tonight against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in the final game of August (7:05 p.m ET, MASN2), here are my takeaways from last night’s Washington Nationals 3-2 win:
Next: Scherzer Shuts Down Phillies